Ashley Bason

March 6th, 2018

SCED 499

InTASC Standard #4 Reflection

When roles reverse and the student becomes the teacher it is almost expected that the

teacher is highly knowledgeable about the content. InTASC Standard #4 states, “the teacher

understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structure of the discipline(s) he or she

teaches and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline accessible and

meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content” (Council of Chief State School

Officers, 2013, p. 24). In other words, the teacher uses different methods to ensure students are

able to grasp the concept. Teachers use the resources they were given that allows for them to

understand their concepts, and translates the resources into skills that are useful for students.

These useful skills add to the quality of learning that takes place within the classroom.

There are multiple in-depth sections that enhance InTASC Standard #4. For example, let

us examine InTASC Standard 4(e), which states, “the teacher recognizes learner misconceptions

in a discipline that interfere with learning, and creates experiences to build accurate conceptual

understanding” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2013, p. 24). Meaning, since teachers

“understand the central concepts” within their given subject they are able to recognize common

misconceptions someone may have in an English Language Arts setting (as an example). So,

they would employ various skills to ensure that students can begin to grasp different elements of

a topic in order to be able to be successful in their classroom.

The article “How Can Teachers Increase Classroom use of Academic Language” by Lisa

Larson, Temoca Dixon, and Dianna Townsend, relates to InTASC Standard #4 because the
authors encourage the idea that teachers should help students learn content specific vocabulary

so that as they progress academically they will be able to comprehend material written in

academic language (Larson, Dixon & Townsend, 2013, p. 16). Within an English Language Arts

classroom, a teacher may complete a vocabulary lesson prior to starting a new book. The teacher

may pull out words in which students may struggle with due to multiple meanings or no

translation.

InTASC Standard #4 is important because it holds teachers accountable. Teachers must

constantly figure out how they will use their knowledge in order to ensure the success of their

students. They must think about concepts from different perspectives, and find new and exciting

ways to teach their lessons.